Derek Ferguson slams officials over incident in Rangers win v St Johnstone, ‘No need for it’

Derek Ferguson has blasted the officials in the match between Rangers and St Johnstone after an incident involving Jack Butland.

 

Butland caught Saints striker Adama Sidibeh in an attempt to clear the ball when the Saints man was clearly already offside, but the referee’s assistant did not flag.

Both players were fine, but the incident was one of several criticised since the rule change to allow a phase of play to be complete before flagging for offside calls, which can increase the risk of injuries occurring.

 

Ferguson said live on BBC Sportsound [6 October, 21:49]: “Butland comes flying out at full force and catches him. That’s a real sore one. There’s no need for it.”

 

Rangers claim victory as Ferguson slams officiating

Rangers did enough to get the job done at Ibrox on Sunday (6 October) as Vaclav Cerny’s double secured the points despite the returning Ianis Hagi’s red card.

A keen eye would have been cast over Celtic and Aberdeen’s respective late shows earlier in the day to maintain their 100-per-cent records, meaning a win was paramount.

 

Ferguson’s criticism of the officials for the particular incident involving Butland was rather taking aim at the wider issue with allowing phases of play to continue even after a clear offside.

It meant an entirely unnecessary injury was risked, along with many which have occurred in the past, in the name of allowing a later VAR call to ascertain the decision unless it is clear and obvious in live action.

Players in recent seasons have been ruled out for as long as months at a time from injuries sustained in these continued phases of play, and the rule must be further assessed.

 

In other Rangers news, Michael Stewart criticises Cyriel Dessers during Sunday’s game.

 

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